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Calvin Johnson won’t play in the Pro Bowl, and Vincent Jackson will take his place.
Jackson made the big bucks and delivered everything Bucs fans could have hoped for this season, minus about 49 inches against the Saints in October. Among starting wide receivers, Jackson led the NFL in yards per catch (19.2) and is extraordinarily deserving of the honor.
Wow, two Bucs in a Pro Bowl. Joe might have to secure some frosty beverages and watch.
Yes, Joe obsesses about all things Bucs. And when words flow from Bucs brass, Joe is especially hypersensitive to their meaning.
So with that in mind, Joe can say that rockstar Bucs general manager Mark Dominik offered a very lukewarm endorsement of starting right tackle Demar Dotson, while chatting with “Booger and Rich” on 98.7 FM yesterday.
Dominik talked about how excited he is to have Pro Bowl guards Carl Nicks and Davin Joseph return, along with Donald Penn and Jeremy Zuttah moving back to center. But Dotson didn’t get the same love.
“And you know, maybe Dotson continues to develop and grow at the right tackle position,” Dominik said.
After studying Dotson, perhaps Dominik is on board with former Bucs guard Ian Beckles’ assessment of his right tackle. “Not sure if he’s the answer,” Beckles said of Dotson after the season finale. Beckled had heaped praise on the 2012 O-line but thought Dotson was lacking.
Joe’s going to take Dominik’s “maybe” and consider it a clear message that major competition for Dotson is on the way, and likely via free agency. The Bucs have only drafted one offensive lineman in the past four years.
After Mark Dominik’s comments yesterday, Joe suspects the Bucs will move quickly to bring back E.J. Biggers for his fifth season in pewter and red.
So who will the Bucs retain from their largely ineffective cornerbacks corps?
Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik hinted yesterday that postseason evaluation brought good marks for E.J. Biggers, Danny Gorrer and Leonard Johnson.
“They got valuable experience,” Dominik said of the trio during an interview on the “Booger and Rich” show on 98.7 FM. Their job against Roddy White and Julio Jones was praised specifically.
“Again, they got valuable experience,” Dominik said, saying “tons of experience” was attained, albeit under less than ideal circumstances.
The Bucs will find fresh talent at cornerback in free agency and/or the draft, Dominik said, but he also claimed another season of the New Schiano Order will have a major organic impact.
“Just experience and time back in here with the system with an offseason again is going to be really important for this football team,” Dominik said. “That’s what you’ll see. You’ll see a lot of [positive] changes going forward.”
Undrafted rookie Leonard Johnson, perhaps the only feather in the cap of jettisoned secondary coach Ron Cooper, was always a lock to return in 2013.
The case of Biggers is more interesting.
Given the Bucs’ lack of depth at the position, Joe wonders whether Dominik will move fast to lock up Biggers, who is an unrestricted free agent. Biggers is hardly a great player that inspires confidence among fans, but if he and Johnson are the fourth and fifth corners on the depth chart — and you don’t have irresponsible, me-first, pill-poppers ahead of them — that’s not too shabby.
Joe was out at the Team West practice yesterday at St. Petersburg High School as the team prepared for the East-West Shrine Game this Saturday at the Fruitdome. Below are notes Joe took during workouts and a light scrimmage in shorts. Joe specifically focused on defensive backs (because that is a major need of the Bucs) along with receivers on the same plays. Joe did not monitor any linemen during the practice, sorry.
Kahlid Wooten, CB, Nevada, 5-11, 200: Torched by Mount Union receiver Jasper Collins up the left sideline.
Aaron Hester, CB, UCLA, 6-2, 195: Has a very quick burst when he turns to keep pace with receivers running down the sideline. Struggled in coverage on short passes as either he gave up too much room for receivers in the flat, or simply couldn’t close on a receiver in the open field.
Dan Buckner, WR, Arizona, 6-4, 211: So tall, he constantly gave the shorter outside linebackers fits as he presented a significant size disadvantage.
Duke Williams, S, Nevada, 6-0, 200: Read one play like a book, fired inside like a rocket to break up a short pass over the middle and nearly had a pick.
Demontre Hurst, CB, Oklahoma, 5-10, 183: Seems to have good fundamentals. Always keeps his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage. Had some trouble with wide receiver Anthony Amos, Middle Tennessee State, down the right sideline due to Amos’ size advantage.
Tyrone Goard, WR, Eastern Kentucky, 6-4, 196: Gave shorter linebackers trouble matching up against his size.
Keith Pough, LB, Howard, 6-3, 238: Had blanket coverage on Kerwynn Williams, RB, Utah State, breaking up a pass. Later he also had a nice break up of a short pass up the right sideline.
Howard Travis, Ohio State, 6-1, 200: Glides smoothly to the ball. Tall. Has some big hops. Very quick feet. Got burned by fellow B1G member Iowa wide receiver Keenan Davis up the left sideline.
Sheldon Price, CB, UCLA, 6-2, 180: Quick feet. On one play, did a fine job of reading and reacting to a pass but couldn’t come up with an interception.
Nigel Malone, CB, Kansas State, 5-10, 180: Kind of small but stocky. Seems pretty quick.
Terry Hawthorne, CB, Illinois, 6-1, 193: Good ball reaction skills. A big corner who looks big enough to play outside linebacker. Good closing speed.
Anthony Amos, WR, Middle Tennessee State, 6-0, 185: Made a good, physical catch in traffic up the right sideline. Later came back on a short pass and leaped and out-battled defenders for a catch over the middle.
Zach Sudfeld, TE, UCLA, 6-7, 255: Consistently able to get open on deep routes over the middle.
Rockstar Bucs general manager Mark Dominik painted a flowery picture of the situation surrounding a potential new contract for Josh Freeman.
Speaking this evening to Steve Duemig, of WDAE-AM 620, Dominik said Freeman’s team and the Bucs are happy and patient.
“No one’s in a hurry. I’m not in an hurry as the general manager of this football team,” Dominik said.
Dominik said there’s been “good communication between everyone” involved in Freeman’s camp and the Bucs and “there’s been nothing adversarial about it.” Freeman’s current contract expires after the 2013 season.
Joe’s not surprised. If nothing else, the Bucs need to know who there offensive coordinator is going to be in 2013 and beyond before they start considering commitments.
Also, and Joe’s only being realistic, one could also say it might be prudent for the Bucs to see if Greg Schiano stays off the hot seat following the 2013 season before they go and lock up Freeman.
On the flip side, if Joe were representing Freeman, Joe wouldn’t be in any hurry, either. Freeman can up his value with another season that doesn’t look like his 2011 campaign.
Ian Beckles
Former Bucs offensive lineman and current sports radio personality Ian Beckles has made a name for himself as something of a player assassin.
If there is a Bucs player who Beckles feels is dogging it or not playing up to the hype, Beckles is not bashful in bringing this subject up, and like a bulldog, not letting go until changes are made.
It was Beckles who famously carried the flag to run linebacker Barrett Ruud out of town. It was Beckles who claimed defensive end Gaines Adams was a wasted draft pick until he was finally traded.
Of late, Beckles is doing his best to see that Bucs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is wearing a different color uniform. Beckles and has reached in his attempts to disqualify GMC’s honor bestowed upon him by fellow players, as well as NFL coaches.
Now, it seems that Beckles has another Bucs player in his crosshairs and will likely unload with both barrels if said player doesn’t perform well next year.
That player appears to be quarterback Josh Freeman.
Last week, speaking with former Bucs quarterback Shaun King (who not only is only one of three Bucs quarterbacks to lead the team to an NFC title game, but is one of only three rookie quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to rally a team from a halftime deficit to win a playoff game), Beckles let loose on Freeman, sort of giving listeners a taste of what to expect come this fall.
“When is it going to get to the point that we stop making excuses for Josh Freeman? It is always a new coordinator. It is always a new coach. It’s a new system. [The NFL] has people coming in as rookies that are successful. Brad Johnson rolled up in here and Jon Gruden put a new system on him and he got it right away. When do we stop making excuses? If the Bucs go 1-3 in their first four games next year, do we pull the plug or do we wait this thing out?”
Beckles raises, in Joe’s eyes, fair questions. Probably the worst thing that could have happened to Freeman happened this season. Not only did he meltdown in four games beginning in December when the Bucs were in position to grab a playoff berth, quarterbacks younger than Freeman and many drafted later than Freeman shined in the playoffs.
So while Freeman struggled and got rattled in big, important games down the stretch (yes, Freeman put up wildly successful fantasy football numbers, but in the NFL, wins are what counts), Bucs fans watched Colin Kaepernik, Robert Griffin III, Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder and Russell Wilson perform in big games to qualify their teams for January playoff games.
Bucs fans watched this young crop of talented quarterbacks and said to themselves, “If these guys can do this, why can’t Freeman?”
Lest Joe’s readers believe Joe is anti-Freeman, consider that weeks ago Joe advocated the Bucs sign Freeman now to a team-friendly, incentive-laded pact.
That might be best for both parties, and likely good for Beckles’ job security as well.
After Beckles’ tirade against Freeman, King replied that if Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik hired him as the new Bucs quarterback coach, “I’d be the best thing that ever happened to Josh Freeman.” King added this is unlikely to happen because, in so many words, King is not on Dominik’s Christmas card list.
In what was considered the deepest draft in the modern era, the Bucs traded up, dumping a fifth-round pick on Day 2 of the 2010 NFL Draft to snag Arrelious Benn with the 39th overall selection.
It hasn’t panned out.
Benn has shown flashes of greatness but has been injured in each of his three seasons. In 2012, he couldn’t beat out journeyman newcomer Tiquan Underwood. In eight games, Benn caught four balls and was a subpar kick returner.
Evan Silva, of RotoWorld.com and NBC Sports, believes the Bucs would be happy to accept the NFL equivalent of a half-eaten tuna sandwich to unload Benn.
Arrelious Benn: After missing all of Greg Schiano’s first training camp with an MCL tear, Benn was lucky to make the Bucs’ Opening Day roster. A November shoulder injury sent Benn to injured reserve after a four-catch season. Lacking a future in Tampa, Benn is in a contract year and carries little to no trade value. The Bucs would probably jump at the chance to salvage a seventh-round conditional pick via trade.
Joe doubts Benn will be moved, but Joe does have doubts about Benn.
It was a massive red flag for Joe when Josh Freeman talked about Benn feeling sad on the sidelines during a 2011 game. That didn’t sound like the fabric of premier draft pick.
Benn has mad talent and is a strong player on special teams and he won’t be making much money in 2013. He’s a good value as a fourth or fifth receiver.
NFL fans watching the amazing playoff games this weekend repeatedly saw Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and Bears cornerback Charles Tillman on TV in USAA commercials honoring them as the two finalists for an award that recognizes those in the NFL who have shown outstanding dedication to the military community.
There were 23 nominees whose efforts were judged by a prestigious panel:
Joe definitely felt some pride for the home team seeing Dominik in the mix, and Joe was more appreciative of the accomplishment after learning of the judges.
Good luck to Dominik as the panel will pick the “Salute to Service” winner before the Super Bowl.
Gerald McCoy will have company in Hawaii when Pro Bowl festivities begin next Monday in advance of the Jan. 27 game.
With the 49ers and Falcons making the NFC Championship game, that means either Pro Bowl alternate Doug Martin or Vincent Jackson will join McCoy in playing for the NFC. Scott Smith, of Buccaneers.com, delivered the news.
If San Francisco wins the NFC Championship Game, then 49ers RB Frank Gore will pull out of the Pro Bowl and that will create a spot for Martin. If Atlanta wins, then Falcons WR Julio Jones will pull out of the Pro Bowl and that will create a spot for Jackson.
If Martin ends up in the Pro Bowl, that might be enough to get Joe to watch.
Joe made no secret that changes to the Bucs coaching staff, specifically dealing with pass defense, had to be made. Again, Joe’s not a “fire him” kinda guy.
So when the Bucs secondary couldn’t stop East Lake High’s passing attack on a good day, and came within 14 yards of a grotesque 93-year NFL record for most yards allowed, that was simply unacceptable football and a change had to be made.
That’s why Joe singled out defensive backs coach Ron Cooper. The most damning element of the Bucs secondary was one couldn’t name a player who improved as the season transpired. That spoke volumes.
Now Joe knows many of his readers wanted defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan on the chopping block, too. Joe wasn’t going there. Sure, he oversaw a rotten pass defense, but Sheridan also was in charge of a worst-to-first rush defense so at least he was doing something right.
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times is of the mind that Cooper, in so many words, was told by Bucs coach Greg Schiano it was in his best interests to leave voluntarily.
The Bucs essentially told Cooper to seek other opportunities but did not announce it. He’s a good coach and a better person. But let’s be honest: The lack of production in the secondary led to losses. Tampa Bay was last in the NFL in passing defense and nearly set a league record for passing yards allowed in a season.
Stroud also hints that there can be other changes to Schiano’s staff. Of course, the best move the Bucs could make is not a move at all. If Chicago elects to hire anyone but Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, who interviewed for their head coach vacancy, it’s a win-win for the Bucs.
McNulty had a stellar reputation as a receivers coach in Arizona and coached for Tom Coughlin and Bill Parcells, in addition to Greg Schiano at Rutgers.
So who did Larry Fitzgerald fly to the Pro Bowl as his personal guest after the 2011 season?
That would be his then Cardinals position coach John McNulty, Greg Schiano’s former offensive coordinator at Rutgers.
Schiano tried to hire McNulty from the Cardinals last year, presumably to be his offensive coordinator, but was denied by the Cardinals brass. However, McNulty is now a free agent after being fired from Arizona with Ken Whisenhunt’s staff.
As Bucs fans hold their collective breath hoping/praying that offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan isn’t the lucky one among the 13 known candidates vying for the Bears head coaching job, the Bucs still have three key coaching vacancies to fill: quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs.
McNulty is a name to watch, and that’s no big surprise. Today, CoachingSearch.com guru Pete Roussel even told Joe that McNulty is a near lock to land in Tampa.
Joe believes McNulty would come to the Bucs as a receivers coach, not as a quarterbacks coach, the job he held in Arizona in 2012.
McNulty, who played safety at Penn State, had success as a receivers coach with the Jaguars under Tom Coughlin (Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith) and worked in Dallas for Bill Parcells, before joining Schiano at Rutgers and moving on to the Cardinals.
Schiano must be salivating at the chance to add his trusted buddy McNulty to the Bucs family. And, frankly, it would be tough for the Bucs to find a receivers coach with better experience. Plus, in Schiano’s mind, McNulty could represent insurance if/when Sullivan leaves town.
Joe suspects the Bucs will lock up McNulty sooner rather than later. It’s hard to imagine McNulty’s resume leaving him without multiple job offers.
P.J. Fleck is one college coach Joe believes the Bucs will miss.
When the Bucs jettisoned Raheem Morris just over a year ago, it took Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik and Team Glazer nearly the entire month of January to find a new coach, who happened to be Greg Schiano, of course.
Because the Bucs were so late in replacing Morris, it sort of put Schiano in a bind in finding assistants. How many times did the Bucs get blocked from hiring NFL guys; their teams wouldn’t release them from their contracts?
Former Bucs defensive lineman and current co-host of “Booger and Rich,” heard locally on WHFS-FM 98.7, said that hurt the Bucs and led to the current exodus of coaches from the Bucs coaching staff — all who came from college and are going back to the college ranks — proves that.
McFarland delivered the take via his “Top Five at Five.”
“This brings up an issue of continuity on this Buccaneer staff. We know Greg Schiano was forced to hire his staff at the last minute. Who was available? A lot of college coaches. So many that an anonymous statement by a player (to Mike Florio that the college coaches should go back to college), we should have put a little more credence to it.”
The three college coaches who went back to college are wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck, who took the head gig at Western Michigan, quarterback coach Ron Turner grabbed the head job at Florida International and, just yesterday, defensive backs coach Ron Turner took a job at USF.
Now Joe knows for a fact that the Bucs wide receivers were crushed when they learned Fleck left. The Bucs receivers loved the guy. So much so that Mike Williams wants to make a special trip to Kalamazoo, Mich. to work out with the Broncos wide receivers.
Fleck, Joe believes, will be missed.
Then there is Turner, who will not be missed. A bad offensive coordinator with the Bears (twice!), and short of the immortal Kurt Kittner, a bad coach at Illinois, Turner is a good departure. The Bucs, and quarterback Josh Freeman, can do so much better.
Then there is Cooper, whose charges nearly pulled off an NFL record for futility in garbage pass defense. Now Joe had heard whispers that Schiano wouldn’t let Cooper do one thing to deviate from Schiano’s exactly measures, not one practice drill, not one scheme. Did Schiano trust him? Joe cannot answer that.
But McFarland’s point may make sense. Schiano was all but stuck reaching into the college ranks for coaches. Maybe that was part of the problem all along?
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Fans who watched Bucs training camp practices saw the wild, high-energy style of P.J. Fleck, the 2012 Bucs wide receivers coach who is now the head coach at Western Michigan University and the youngest head coach in Division I college football.
On Thursday night, Fleck did his first extensive interview since leaving the Bucs with Steve Isbitts on 98.7 FM. Joe wrote about Fleck’s take on the Bucs offense’s late-season struggles yesterday.
Below is the full interview with Fleck. He offers deep insight into Vincent Jackson’s attitude, working for Greg Schiano, along with comments on Preston Parker, the Adam Hayward-Bryan Cox shoving match, and more.
Joe has lived in the greater Tampa Bay area spanning three decades now, will not leave and will have his ashes spread locally at a yet to be determined Tampa Bay location when it’s time to go to the football stadium in the sky.
But for the life of Joe, he cannot understand the full erection local sports fans have with attendance. It is mind-boggling.
Moreso, the two-bit, research-depraved talking heads on radio that throw gasoline on these bonfires, Joe just wants to rip the radio out of his truck and throw it at some random cat walking down the street. It’s one reason why Joe has SiriusXM.
Attendance, when it comes to the modern day NFL, is a drop in the bucket compared to all the billions of dollars the NFL rakes in through various TV gigs, commercials, sponsorships, Internet revenue … the list goes on.
Yet for some reason, locals believe the NFL is the NHL, where gate receipts will either make or break a franchise. And sadly, one of our country’s bravest is of this mindset, which sent Joe into orbit on an otherwise calm, even-sober, early Friday evening after reading the weekly BSPN NFC South chat.
Ben (Ft Bliss)
Have not heard much on the LA stadium, if TB struggles selling out next year are they a viable candidate?
Pat Yasinskas
I don’t think it’s to that point yet for Bucs. Could be if attendance lags for a few more years, but not yet. Jags are well ahead are well ahead of them in the LA line anyway.
Good Lord! For those stuck in the 1970s, please, rather than being willfully ignorant, obtain a copy of the Bucs lease with the Tampa Sports Authority — it’s public record — and read it to understand exactly why this notion of the Bucs moving is about as intelligent as suggesting the Dallas Cowboys are bankrupt.
Aside from the sweetheart lease Team Glazer has, the Tampa Sports Authority, bound by its voter-approved referendum, is set to have a fan-friendly, revenue-enhanced upgrade of the stadium in the near future.
So the Bucs are going to break a sweetheart lease and leave a stadium about to be upgraded for very likely a less-than-favorable lease in Los Angeles where they will get sandbagged by business-hostile California state taxes that are absolutely choking the economy of the Golden State?
Right, and Joe just finished his morning shower with Rachel Watson.
If the above information isn’t enough to move you, does anyone really believe some deep-pocket business man in Los Angeles is going to build a $1 billion football stadium and not want to own at least 40 percent of the the team? Are there people out there that drunk to believe someone is going to build such a stadium for charity? Really?
How many times has Team Glazer said they are not selling any part of the Bucs?
Bucs fans, please do a modicum of research before talking about such a nonsensical subject, and by all means, knock off the insipid attendance talk.
Contrary to the belief of far too many sports fans in the Tampa Bay area, the most important line of a box score is not the bottom line (attendance) but the top line (final score).
For Bucs fans pining for the return of Monte Kiffin to run the Bucs defense, well, it’s time to turn the page and find another dream.
The renowned defensive mastermind, despite having his primary residence listed as Redington Beach, has just been hired by the Cowboys to run their defense, so reports ESPN.
Kiffin, who turns 73 in February, resigned as Southern Cal’s defensive coordinator last month after spending four years on his son Lane’s staffs at USC and Tennessee. He spent 26 years as an NFL assistant coach, including a 13-year run as Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator before returning to college football in 2009.
Cue the Chucky-is-coming-to-Dallas rumor mongering, which Joe believes has a kernel of merit.
Unless something totally unforeseen happens, Bucs coach Greg Schiano will keep Bill Sheridan as his defensive lieutenant.
What is interesting to Joe is the Dallass defense is not stocked for a Tampa-2 type of a defense.
Warren Sapp is one step closer to entering the Hall of Fame in 2013. The list of 17 finalists was announced this morning and Sapp, in his first year of eligibility, made the cut. The panel of Hall voters meets the day before the Super Bowl to select up to five modern-era nominees.
Sapp’s got a tough road, with Michael Strahan, Charles Haley, Jerome Bettis, Larry Allen, Bill Parcells and Jonathan Ogden on the finals ballot. (Here’s the full list.)
The Tampa Bay area’s lone voter, Tampa Tribune writer eye-RAH! Kaufman, also dubbed “The Custodian of Canton” by national radio host Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, will present the case for Sapp before his colleagues.
John Lynch, also in his first year of eligibility, was a semifinalist, but Lynch didn’t make the finals. Bruising former Broncos safety Steve Atwater also was a semifinalist but was iced out of the finals. It’s a tough road for safeties and it could take Lynch years to get in, if he gets in at all.
Those hoping Ronde Barber gets in the Hall one day should keep an eye on former Cardinals and Rams great Aeneas Williams. He’s a finalist for the second consecutive year. Over a 14-year career, Williams made seven Pro Bowls as a cornerback (two more than Barber) and one Pro Bowl as a safety. He’s also got more career interceptions than Barber.
Joe’s not saying Williams is better than Barber, but how the voters treat Williams could indicate how Barber’s eventual process might go.
Former Bucs wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck weighs in for the first time since leaving the Bucs for Western Michigan University.
The late-season troubles of the Bucs offense had a lot to do with coaching, as in opposing coaches flummoxing the Bucs enough to affect execution, so says former Bucs wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck.
Fleck, who bolted from the Bucs for a head coaching gig at Western Michigan, hit the 98.7 FM sports radio airwaves last night to talk all things Bucs with host Steve Isbitts, one of the voices of “Joe.”
Fleck dismissed the notion that “miscommunication” between Josh Freeman and receivers was a significant problem during the Bucs losing streak.
“I think you just have to give the type of defenses we were facing [credit]. The National Football League has some of the best coaches in the world. And they’re not going to go ahead, once you start to getting around to playing guys again and again, they’re not going to give you the same looks and they’re going to try to create different things that you’re going to be able to see, and show you things that may look like the first time they played you, then the second time it’s completely opposite,” Fleck said.
“Some of the adjustments we were making, but, I just think they did a great job scheming against us like everybody does toward the end of the year. I wouldn’t say it was a ton of miscommunication, in terms of we weren’t on the same page, I just didn’t think we executed as an entire offense at time. That happened to be at the end of the season. Instead of the beginning, it somewhat happened at the end. But I think we were always on the same page. [Mike Sullivan] did a great job preparing the entire offense. That happens in the National Football League sometimes, where the defense gets the best of you.”
Hearing/reading Fleck’s comments, Joe can’t help but sum them up; the Bucs were outcoached during their five-game losing streak.
It happens.
But that’s also why Joe believes it was so important that the New Schiano Order righted the ship against a full and hungry Atlanta Falcons squad, on the road no less. It was proof that the regime has the fortitude and intelligence to bounce back against a familiar, powerful and well-coached foe.
(Joe will deliver more from Fleck’s interview through the weekend)
First there was Greg Schiano revealing his rage surrounding the historically dreadful Bucs secondary before the season-ending Falcons game. Then Schiano went wild on cornerback Anthony Gaitor during that Falcons game with what appeared to be overhead film shots, pointing things out to Gaitor on the sidelines (the position coach’s job) and apparently screaming, “Do Your Job!” to all the defensive backs.
For Joe, those were all very damning signs for the future of defensive backs coach Ron Cooper, who the Bucs officially waved goodbye to this morning. Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski of 98.7 FM broke the news that Cooper will be assistant head coach and defensive backs coach at the University of South Florida.
Cooper’s first shot in the NFL was with the Bucs, and it was a disaster. The Bucs secondary was dreadful, nearly missing the NFL mark for most yards allowed in one season. Schiano, a former defensive backs coach with the Bears, was not going to tolerate that level of disgrace.
For Joe, another red flag on Cooper was Joe never once hearing Ronde Barber mention Cooper. In the past, Barber had routinely and openly praised his position coaches, from Jimmy Lake to Mike Tomlin to Herm Edwards, but never Cooper.
Sure, Cooper didn’t have a load to work with, but he didn’t seem to get anyone to improve, including the Adderrall twins, Aqib Talib and Eric Wright. Undrafted Leonard Johnson might be the only feather in his cap. Cooper’s fellow defensive position coaches all had major successes in 2012.
Joe hates to use “unnamed sources,” and rarely does, but Joe has an excellent source telling him that Cooper was forced to run Schiano’s secondary drills and was unhappy about not being able to use his own drills and coach in his own way. But of course, there’s more to being an NFL position coach than just teaching.
Replacing Cooper represents a critical hire for the Bucs. This time around the Bucs have ample time to score an experienced, proven NFL secondary coach. Joe hopes Schiano and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik have a blank check to hire the best coach available.
One reason the Bucs offense put up franchise-record numbers in 2012 is because the Bucs not just drafted Doug Martin, but the Bucs also upgraded the wide receiver position by dropping a load (of cash) on Vincent Jackson.
Jackson wasn’t the lone player the Bucs bought, but that shouldn’t be the end. Per multimedia guru Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, by way of “The Professor,” John Clayton of ESPN.com, the Bucs have a good chunk of change for free agents this coming season.
On Clayton’s list, the Buccaneers rank fifth in available cap space, with $31.3 million. That total includes $8.5 million in carryover space; the Bucs had far less of this than they did last year after spending heavily in free agency to get Jackson, Carl Nicks and Eric Wright. However, as General Manager Mark Dominik recently pointed out, the Bucs’ available space was helped significantly by the decision to restructure contracts for Jackson and Nicks. Dominik said the resulting cap space will allow the team to dive into free agency again if such a move would help but also to work on keeping the talented nucleus of the existing roster intact.
Here is where Joe thinks some of the cash is headed: The cornerback market is soft in free agency, but there will be decent players. In other words, a buyer’s market.
So Joe believes Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik will land two — maybe three — lower level cornerbacks, if for no other reason than to give the Bucs depth at the position.
Then, Dominik will draft a corner no later than the third round and still have cash for other areas and to secure current players (like Michael Bennett).
It is depth, not so much a stud starter, that the Bucs need most at cornerback.
